Space Force Decides on preferred Headquarters Location
Could it be sweet home Alabama for the US military’s newest branch? According to a statement released by the service on Wednesday, the Space Force would like its home to be Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama.
“The Department of the Air Force conducted both virtual and on-site visits to assess which of six candidate locations would be best suited to host the U.S. Space Command Headquarters based on factors related to mission, infrastructure capacity, community support and costs to the Department of Defense.
Huntsville compared favorably across more of these factors than any other community, providing a large, qualified workforce, quality schools, superior infrastructure capacity, and low initial and recurring costs. Additionally, Redstone Arsenal offered a facility to support the headquarters, at no cost, while the permanent facility is being constructed.”
Redstone Arsenal beat 26 other locations which had been under consideration for the new branch’s headquarters location but the choice has not yet been finalized and five locations remain as potential alternatives. However, this has not stopped elected Alabama officials from celebrating the decision. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced on Twitter that: “I couldn’t be more pleased to learn that Alabama will be the new home to the United States Space Command!”
The HQ announcement comes just after the Space Force was officially welcomed into the intelligence community on January 11th by Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe:
“Through sharing space-related information and intelligence, the IC and DoD increase integration and coordination of our intelligence activities to achieve best effect and value in executing our missions. […] This move not only underscores the importance of space as a priority intelligence and military operational domain for national security, but ensures interoperability, future capability development and operations, and true global awareness for strategic warning.”
In other Space Force news, Colonel Brande Walton, of the 45th Space Force Wing, revealed that she expects 53 space launches will take place in Florida this year – a significant increase over the 31 which occurred in 2020. Walton expects three of these to be human missions, including two SpaceX and one Boeing launch. However, these numbers are just a projection.
Until the new Space Force Headquarters becomes operational, Colorado Springs, Colorado will remain the provisional home of the Guardians.